This invention relates to an apparatus for lifting packaged integrated circuit parts and feeding them into the input reservoir of a high-speed handler and tester.
In the semiconductor industry integrated circuits are given a series of final electrical tests before the circuits are used or sold. For economic reasons, especially in view of the very large number of circuits manufactured and tested, it is necessary that the time required for handling the circuits be kept as short as possible. For this reason, machines have been developed for rapidly handling parts as they are tested and sorted by high-speed computerized testers.
Untested circuits are usually stored in commonly available A-frame sleeves. Parts are dump transferred from these sleeves into the reservoir of a handler, tested, sorted into test categories, and then reloaded into sleeves for storage. Commercially available handlers require that untested parts be loaded into one location, usually at the top of the handler, and tested parts be unloaded at a different location, usually near the bottom. The operator must stand and reach to load parts, and then must move to unload tested parts. With some machines the sleeve of untested parts constitutes at least a portion of the reservoir of untested parts so a different sleeve must be picked up and handled to unload tested parts. This requires the multiple handling of the storage sleeves. This method of loading and unloading parts is inconvenient for the operator and is inefficient in both time and motion required.
Accordingly, a need existed for an apparatus that would quickly and efficiently lift and feed integrated circuit parts into a high-speed handler for test.